Speak Up Paperback – July 10, 2019

Speak Up introduces a practical TRUTH framework that can change conversations, relationships and performance. In most of the cultural transformation projects I witness the cost of silence, missing voices and leaders’ lack of awareness towards creating dialogue; the book provides a path to understand and navigate the power and politics of conversations at work.

More often than not it is the top executives who do not listen up that deter others to speak up. In case you cast doubt on my last statement, and want to learn a framework which claims to enable its readers to improve their awareness of how and why they speak and listen up, you may give this book a try, if you also buy into what follows:-The TRUTH framework (Trust, Risk, Understanding, Titles, How-to)How much do you Trust the value of your opinion…and that of others?What are the Risks you face in speaking up…and others face in speaking up to you?Do you Understand the politics of what does and doesn’t get said to other?Are you aware of the Titles and social labels you put on others and others put on you and how they shape what gets said and is left unsaid?Do you know How to choose the right words and the right time to speak up and invite people to speak up to you?

The book was great. Research-based insights into diverse situations to which anyone could relate. I particularly liked the summary question after each chapter that nudged me to reflect on how I communicate. And I loved the perfectly worded six summary points at the end, including, "What conversation could you have differently today?"Thank you, Megan & John

This is an incredible book. It had never really occurred to me that what and how we communicate is as much about power as the content of what is being said. I consider myself an excellent communicator, but having read this book I can now understand why things just didn’t land as well as they should or could have done: I hadn’t understood my own privilege or adequately considered the position of those I was communicating with.This meticulously researched guide sets out the ‘TRUTH’ model of communication:T - to what extent do I TRUST the value of my contributionR - what are the RISKS in saying thisU - do I UNDERSTAND the politics here - will I stand on somebody’s toes?T - TITLES - what labels am I applying to myself, other people, and what labels might they apply to me? E.g. what is my privilege?H - HOW can I best communicate this message?But equally, it applies that model to how you LISTEN. Do you:T - Trust other people’s contributions, or do you think you have nothing to learn?R - Are my colleagues taking a RISK in speaking to me (many people are far more intimidating than they think they are).U - Do I understand the politics people are navigating in giving me information - e.g. are they giving me a positive account of the data because they want me to stay happy? Or is this the unvarnished truth?T - TITLEs - do people attach labels to you: do they think I’m ‘nice,’ ‘stressed’, logical, a ‘boss’?H - Do I know HOW to help others speak up? Just saying ‘you can tell me’ won’t necessarily cut it. Do I listen with curiosity, or react with judgement.So, if you want to take your communications to the next level, this is a REALLY good way into that topic. I learned a lot. I hope you do too.

I found this a great shirt read on how power is used in organisations, how we can navigate office politics, how we can speak up and listen up more effectively.This is not ‘just be brave and speak your truth’. This is about acknowledging there are games at work, different power cultures, and we need to consider all of these in order to effective.Highly recommended.

As a OD advisor, mentor and coach, I am repeatedly invited to "help" when organisational and interpersonal relations have gone sour - leading to all kinds of personal and organisational misfortunes. The question always asked - is what can I do to to this happening again. The short answer is "Speak Up"! We all know how easy it is to give such advice, and how difficult it is to follow it - let alone learn to do it habitually before relationships go awry.In this short, well written, pragmatic , honest book - Megan Reitz and John Higgins give practical useful and most importantly well researched advice. They explain why we do not "Speak Up", what we can do to build trusting relationships, to engender trust, to risk speaking up - advisedly and to encourage and enable others to do the same. Best of all they do this in a straight speaking direct and jargon fee way.If you are a CXO - wondering why your subordinates aren't as forthcoming as they should be, or a middle manager sitting frustrated at not being heard - READ this book... At last here is a research based bit of advice that can be easily adopted into your practice and that can change the quality of your organisational conversations and relationships or the better!

If organisations want to transform or more likely have to transform, then they need to create a psychologically safe culture where people can speak up and share concerns, vulnerabilities and challenge decisions. Without this freedom, siloes will remain and the organisation will not be able to respond and adapt. This book is a modern, practical addition to the genre of books supporting leaders who need to transform organisations with some useful 'How to' around creating the conditions for creating a speak-up culture. It's a quick read which in today's time-strapped world is not a bad thing either.